Immediate action needed to reduce 269 million bird deaths in Canada, nature groups say
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Immediate action needed to reduce 269 million bird deaths in Canada, nature groups say
OTTAWA (October 1, 2013) —
In the wake of shocking new research published today in collaboration
with the federal government, nature
conservation groups, including Nature Canada, are calling on both
individuals and governments alike to act now to help stop millions of
bird deaths each year.
The new research published today finds that a staggering
269 million birds
are killed every year as a direct result of human-related activities.
The research suggests that about 90% of the 269 million birds killed
fall under the protection of the
Migratory Birds Convention Act and that the major causes of death
include feral and pet cats, agriculture, oil and gas activities, and
collisions with buildings.
Under the Migratory Birds Convention Act
and as a signatory to the Migratory Bird Treaty, the federal government
has an obligation to conserve migratory bird populations in Canada.
“We
are deeply troubled by the disquieting research published today on the
number of birds killed every year in Canada due to human-related
activities,” said Ian Davidson, Executive Director
of Nature Canada. “Fortunately, there are concrete and sensible ways
that people and governments can prevent the needless death of birds,
especially now during the migratory season.”
Nature
Canada is calling on municipal and other governments to adopt a variety
of sensible measures to mitigate these needless deaths. These measures
include demanding better building standards
from developers; muting reflective surfaces by angling glass or adding
awnings or overhangs; and putting legislation in place to cut down on
the wasteful practice common in some office buildings of leaving lights
on overnight.
“It’s
important that better building standards, including measures to prevent
bird deaths, are adopted and enforced by cities across Canada”, said
Caroline Schultz, Executive Director of Ontario
Nature. “These can be really common sense measures like muting
reflections in windows, reducing light pollution or providing visual
markers.”
Nature
Canada emphasizes that individual Canadians can also help cut down on
the number of birds killed every year by adopting some sensible
measures. “As simple as it sounds, one of the best
things Canadians can do is really just to keep your cat indoors,
especially around dawn and dusk,” said Alexander MacDonald, Manager of
Protected Areas for Nature Canada. MacDonald also stresses that feral
cats are an especially acute threat. “Bob Barker
really was right: we should help control the pet population and have
our pets spayed or neutered.”
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About Nature Canada:
Nature
Canada is the oldest and largest grassroots nature conservation
non-profit organization in Canada. As a co-partner in BirdLife
International, Nature Canada is also the largest conservation
advocacy group in the country with a special focus of advocating on
behalf of birds.
In 2013, Nature Canada was named as one of Canada’s top environmental charities by Charity Intelligence.
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Related links:
In-depth: Nature Canada’s common sense proposals to prevent needless bird deaths
(HTML url forthcoming)
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For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
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